IIMK?s White Knight contest now open to professionals

The national-level entrepreneurship competition ?White Knight? which will be held as part of the annual international management festival ?Backwaters? organised by Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), has been thrown open to professionals besides students.

"The competition aims to put into action the institute?s vision of shifting the B-School from the path of exclusive elitism to inclusive excellence. This event will provide a platform to enterprising and ambitious people with ideas for profitable and scalable businesses to make their dreams a reality?, said Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIMK, during the launch of the event on Wednesday.

This year, White Knight has been launched on a bigger scale, the event?s organisers said on Wednesday. India Innovation Network is acting as the Advisor and Mentor for the event while TiE Kerala is the Knowledge Partner.

The competition will invite ideas not only from B-School students but also from working professionals. In line with the B school?s vision of creating socially sensitive managers attuned to the welfare needs of emerging India, White Knight has a special prize in the category ?Best Social Venture?.

Prizes would be given to other special categories like IT products, women entrepreneurs, and biotech subject to the quality of B-Plans submitted in these categories.

Entries would be accepted till September 25 and evaluated by a panel of leading venture capitalists, industry leaders, and IIMK Faculty. The event has Rs. 50 million of total seed funding making it the biggest entrepreneurship challenge in India, an IIMK event management.

The winner in the last edition of White Knight, took home Rs. 1 Lakh and the White Knight rolling trophy, given by TiE Kerala. The winning team was SPJIMR for their business plan ?eSamuhanam ? enhancing rural employability?.

Details can be found on the event website www.iimkbackwaters.com/whiteknight.